Planet of Slums (Mike Davis

Mike Davis
Planet of Slums


Sent to me by my brother Matt cos he didn't want to lend his own copy, too important as a reference work socialogically, this book is truly terrifying. A document as to how slums are taking over the planet apart from small heavily guarded enclaves. These enclaves range from the archetypal Sao Paulo luxury apartments' tennis courts overlooking favelas directly underneath their steep medieval castle like walls to whole continents (i.e. Europe) who prevent migration from poverty to relative luxury through technology and man power. The author pulls in loads of reference works and systematically goes through the slum situation across the globe, how they are growing exponentially, how they came to be there and what their future is. He goes through why the majority of peoples on the planet are being failed by their and other states being pushed into or further into poverty. He shows how the idea that people can work their way up and out of slums and poverty is an illusion at best and a corrupt lie to be more accurate. The ecological nightmare of living in slums is a focus and the root cause of the massive growth due to IMF and World Bank (read USA and Western Europe) monetary and political policies eroding, or avalanching, away the state in poverty stricken countries. A seeming surplus of humanity is discussed in that the rich want to consume more and more and keep the poor down at heel. Futures are analysed including the massive move to the informal economy in many places and how this affects poverty line humanity in the ability to be educated and break out of the vicious circle. Victorian British, Irish and Italian slums are referenced but not really analysed that much especially how they were eradicated. Whatever the reason things seem to be different today as there are no empires at hand for stricken countries or new continents to be conquered or markets to have goods forced upon them by imperialistic empires. Finally there is a chilling thought to end such a chilling book. It seems that the only government organisation globally to accept that we won't get rid of massive slums, or even stem the flow into slums and spread of them into agricultural land and communities, is the US military. They have accepted that for decades they will be fighting never ending wars against poor militants and have started investigating how they can fight insurgents in the slum environment when roads are either non existent and certainly not mapped and the population is so densely packed. We know their current tactic which is to simply bomb entire buildings or communities. They are refining this partly through their experiences in fighting civil disturbances in Los Angeles. The fact that LA is a blue print for slums is very telling. It shows that the west is not as far from being swamped by toxic waste and slums as we may think. And that the powers that be are content for it to slide into such a state. Essential reading for anyone socially or politically aware, humanitarians and ecologists alike. If our culture started with tales of past paradise such as the Garden of Eden we are on a fast track to finishing it in hell as envisioned in Dante's inferno. A nuclear holocaust would seemingly be a welcome quick euthanasia for the human race compared to the progression of slum lifestyles, or deathstyles, that are increasingly covering the globe that we are treating and it's inhabitants whether human or animal or agricultural so badly. Illuminating. Depressing.

Soccer vs. The State (Gabriel Kuhn)

Gabriel Kuhn
Soccer vs. The State

Another book from the anarchist book fair and whilst chunkier than the others I bought / picked up this is mainly a series of articles by others sewn together into a coherent story. It goes through how anarchists and their ideas are linked to football. It's not a massively rich seam of content so anything slightly left wing seems to be included. Including making out that folk like Maradona are radical just cos they pay lip service to some left wing groups to delude themselves that they are still working class rebels. My arse. And then goes on to bemoan that today's game is all about winning and that cheating is a sympton of the capitalist annexation of the beautiful game. Hand of dog anyone? Anyways, despite that whinge it's a really good read and well put together. First off a few debates around whether the competitive and tribal nature of football is compatible with anarchist ideas. And whether it is (and always has been) an opiate for the people pitting them against each other rather than against their capitalist masters. Obviously the ongoing commercialisation (wasn't it ever?) and recent big money makes the difference between supporter and supported / owner greater than ever before. Violence and bigotry are also examined from all sides.

Next section is about how football can lead radical ideas and actions and we hop through examples including footballers themselves, managers & owners, then teams and onto supporters and their fan groups including the Ultras movement (if that's what it is). Lastly we trip through examples of radical home grown grass roots football teams, or should that be collectives, which provides particularly fascinating reading especially the Bristol Easton Cowboys and Girls. 

Great articles and very worthwhile reading. Practical too as my willingness to pay Ashburton Grove prices (aka The Arsenal ground) and now living south of the river has led me to try to find another team to co-support. You know that you can never stop loving your childhood team. This is neatly pointed out in the book as examples of left wingers supporting rich or full on capitalist clubs are given, with the point made that once you're in you're in and there's no going back. If religion be the opiate of the people then football is chasing the dragon - you can never leave. Who can resist looking at least at the scores? I feel irrational urges to look up Bath City scores and table positions of towns I've lived in and the teams of mates. Back to my point. I've tried to like Crystal Palace but failed miserably. I never meet fans I like, even though I know they have probably the closest to ultras. Their ground is bloody bleak and cold. And prices are nearly as expensive as The Arsenal whilst their football is shite and so value for money is way less. Fulham have lost their appeal recently and they're too close to my main team for comfortable support. Chelski are obviously out due to them being, well, Chelsea. Maybe Dulwich Hamlet who my mate goes to see but I suspect that the quality of football is about as good as I can could muster on a lucky day. I had considered AFC Wimbledon but it's a bit of a trek to their temporary ground - sharing until they can move back to Plough Lane. So as they're name checked in the book as a fan created club, following the disgraceful move of Wimbledon FC to Milton Keynes, I thought I'd put in the effort to go see them. After cycling 8 miles through the rain I arrived to see them play Dagenham and Redbridge (who Debbie said I should support instead seeing as I'm married to her and she's from those parts) and what a match. We (yes, we) won and as I was in the home end terrace behind the goal was in the midst of the sort of boisterous mayhem and witty songs that I last experienced back in the North Bank days at Highbury. Ah blissful memories. Although to be fair not quite as crowded or dangerous as being in the middle of the North Bank. The nearest I've come to it since the move from Highbury was at St Pauli in Hamburg where you still have terracing and can bring drinks onto it. So maybe I'll go see The Wombles more often and start learning the players names and the local chants. I know this seems a bit forced but think of it as moving from being C of E to Quaker. Same base drug different usage.

That may be a diversion but linking back to the book The Arsenal are name checked as having the highest ticket prices in the world (well what do you expect if you watch the best team that ever walked the earth, hmmm) and St Pauli who are the most obvious high profile radical left wing / anarchist club. Even with a copper playing part time for them. They aren't praised without criticism and as always through the book where players, clubs and fan groups stray from high anarchist ideals this is commented on. So yeah. Excellent read and a well balanced book. Go read. Liberate a copy from your local capitalist book store - or better buy a copy from the next anarchist book fair that you visit.

A final word. Whilst most of the book makes sense I think that the grass roots pick up game idea that it's purely anarchist is obviously not restricted to anarchists. Would have been more telling to point out that many things that we do in society have no rules enforced by police or referees but are generally agreed amongst those participating. My recently defunct 5 a side nights (RIP - I miss you, not getting my weekly fix) were a great example where we just turned up, sides were picked according to a mystical force and the physicality of the games regulated by mutual consent, or one of us oldies throwing our toys off the pitch temporarily. One guy usually kept score although once we got past ten goals each we were all very dubious as to his proclamations. A great example of libertarianism in action. Although we did have to pay the school for the pitch.

Desert (Anonymous)

Anonymous
Desert

Another pamphlet from the anarchist book fair this one being a freebie and anonymous presumably as the author is still very much active in the libertarian struggle and I guess in ways that puts his or her liberty in danger. Basic premise is that we're too late to save civilisation (not necessarily a bad thing) or the ecology of the planet (as far as supporting billions of humans goes) and most involved in fighting for a better world (as defined by anarchists, ecologists, libertarians, syndicalists) know this fact and are either fighting a losing battle getting more depressed about it or have given up completely. The booklet takes us down this path in very logical arguments and is very well written and thought through even if you may not agree with either the ecological conclusions or why this is not a bad state of affairs from an anarchist viewpoint. I think much of the analysis is taken from others and one or two in particular. The author's view is that as civilisation disintegrates there will be pockets where anarchists can live together in communal living perhaps more so than is possible today. Examples of where such communities have existed and do so today are given. Counter arguments that limited resources will squeeze such libertarian communities are considered but overall the feeling is that liberty can be found as civilisation fragments.

I get the feeling that the author is sort of looking forward to carving out a libertarian way of life amongst the chaos but I feel that it'll be a lot more devastating than the author hopes for and despots and totalitarian governments and / or companies will ensure that there is no room for small communities to flourish anywhere that anyone can scrape together a living. And those in the central / equatorial regions which will become deserts (hence the title) will flood towards the warming northern parts not necessarily having living a community based way of life at the top of their agenda. An odd passage was saying that being in a shanty town gave a certain feeling of liberty and where I can see the author's point in the way that it's presented I was thinking that they presumably knew that they could leave at any time so not living with the stresses that others in that community would be.

Overall a very good read though. I had to take the photo myself as couldn't find on-line and although found a couple of reviews of this booklet can't find the publisher on-line: Stac an Armin press, St Kilda

Yesterday's To-morrow - Bristol's Garden Suburbs (Stephen E. Hunt)

Stephen E. Hunt
Yesterday's To-morrow - Bristol's Garden Suburbs

A short pamphlet picked up at the anarchist book fair I went to a couple of weeks ago giving an introduction to Bristol's garden suburbs and their links to libertarian sensibilities. I was interested cos the guy on the stand said that it included the Fry's Chocolate factory model village at Keynsham, near where I grew up and where my parents live, but it also includes other developments such as Shirehampton west of Bristol. The suburbs are an interesting mix of developments by libertarian planners, influenced by people such as William Morris, and those built by industrialists for their workers to give them a pleasant place to live - no doubt to ensure loyalty, healthiness (compared to slum dwelling) and proximity to the factory. No doubt some individualist libertarians felt claustrophobic in these surroundings and there is some paternity in not building pubs for the good of the residents but I guess better than the tenement slums a lot were used to. The booklet draws parallels with other garden cities built at the time and covers briefly how the Bristol suburbs are surviving today with the pressures of packing more people into less space. A good read.

Bristol Radical Pamphleteer #8
http://www.brh.org.uk/publications.html

Heart of a Dog (Mikhail Bulgakov)

Mikhail Bulgakov
Heart of a Dog



From just finishing one of the worst books to one of the best. Very readable and laugh out loud funny. A bizarre experiment and bizarre people all set in a Russian communist apartment block. Easy to understand digs at the communist state and those empowered by it whilst the wider context of the book and our hero the dog gives a more subtle analysis of communism. Or at least how it was implemented / evolved in Russia in the early 20s. The book could have been written today with a little update on the jobs or roles of certain characters and is written in a modern style which maybe due to the translation although I think that was in the late 60s. I picked it up at Oxfam Books having read the back cover blurb and only intended to dip into the introduction a few evenings ago but I was so intrigued that I started the first chapter and couldn't put it down. A couple of hours later and I'd finished. Fabulous and highly recommended.

Rosa Luxemburg (Paul Frölich)

Paul Frölich
Rosa Luxembourg

A Pluto Press Ideas in Action series translated by Joanna Hoornweg. Written 1939 and reissued 1972. This is a different cover to the one I borrowed off my work colleague Danny as, for the first time, I couldn't find the one I read on the net.

This is an excellent insight into the revolutionary politics of the early 20th Century in middle Europe in particular Poland and Germany. It's also a brilliant insight into a revolutionary life detailing a personal struggle in the wider political context. Rosa Luxemburg dedicated her life to socialism and was apparently a brilliant interpreter of Marxist theory applied to the practicalities of her place and time. Maybe she's made out to be a little too good to be true especially in her predictions of the future. There's also a big question about whether Rosa should have grasped power both within the socialist party in Germany and also pushed harder during the German revolution in 1918/19. This question and what could have happened if Rosa had been in charge is only really raised at the end of the book rather than a critical assessment in the relevant chapter. This is more a criticism of the book than Rosa as she obviously had her reasons including that of being in and out of prison and having appalling health problems.

The book ends with how Germany's socialist revolution was scuppered due to turncoats and thuggery of the Bourgeoisie thus paving the way for Hitler's takeover. Maybe Lenin had to create the proletarian dictatorship in Russia to protect the revolution with the risk that personal freedom and democracy would be rolled back, rather than progressed, resulting in that travesty of "left wing" dictatorship  Stalinism for which read state capitalism complete with the necessary repression to sustain it.

The book is remarkable given that, at the time, there were so many lost papers either destroyed during the revolution or by the Nazis or kept quiet in Russian archives as not supportive of Stalinist policies. Maybe for my education I'd like a bit more on the wider context as all it's all centred on Rosa but I kept up and as it was written in 1939 the context would've been well known to those reading the book. We could've gone into more detail about Rosa's personal life to get a better flavour of the woman. References to affairs and partners were so obtuse and I wondered if they were all men or some of her woman friends. Not important as such but an indication of Rosa's place in time. And Lenin legalised homosexuality which was unheard of across Europe. Her mistreatment at the hands of the police and especially just before her death are equally obtuse and leave you wondering what did go on. Maybe when written the author couldn't go into too much detail to both pander to current sensibilities and to not besmirch a heros character.

Overall extremely readable and excellent introduction to this period and a dedicated woman.

The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)

J. D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye

A very compulsive book in that every time I put it down I wanted to pick it up again. Didn't take long to read then as quite short. It's basically a couple of days in the life a teenager who's dropping out of school (as in British school rather than American college, if you see what I mean) by seemingly deliberately flunking his subjects except for the one he enjoys. Most of the people he knows and meets he thinks are phoney and he's often taken advantage of. He's sort of naive and very innocent in a lot of ways such as his interactions with taxi drivers pimps and prostitutes which grates against what he's doing with his life and descriptions of, and to my mind darker suggestions of, sex, smoking and swearing*. He seems to hanker back to happier days and only successfully spends time with his younger sister however even she seems more grounded and mature. There seems to be a lot of analysis about this character which maybe is warranted if you can be bothered to try to understand the teenage mind but for me it's simply a brilliantly written narrative of an angst ridden teenager who's going through all the confusing times that we all did ending up hating nearly everyone and wanting to get out of his situation by dreaming of a simple and idyllic life away from all the crap he has to deal with. And who hasn't been there. I love the fact that the helpful adults aren't at all not through their fault except not remembering what it's like to be a teenager. But how many of us can? The great thing about this book is that it brings those feelings flooding back in a way that few, if no, other books have for me. I checked how old Salinger was when he wrote this (32) but a lot of the material was written years beforehand when he must've been either in or just past his teenage years which makes sense. I also love that our hero references literature that deals with similar subjects of angst innocence being put in situations you don't want and have to break out of such as Thomas Hardy who is also a brilliant writer.

To sum up a dreamer who is continually disappointed that the world doesn't deliver as promised and wants to get away from everything. In other words a teenager.

* Sex, Smoking and Swearing. The perennial themes of teenage years encapsulating hormone urges, getting out of it and rebelling. And ain't that a great name for an album in the vein of leather bristles studs and acne & sex and drugs and rock and roll.

Small Island (Andrea Levy)

Andrea Levy
Small Island

Started reading on holiday in Cornwall and Devon - very white population so strangely linked to the whiteness of the London population experienced by the novel's protagonists. Oddly split stories which touch in parts but randomly. Two stories of white English couple split by WWII the other of Jamaican dreams of living and working in England. Joint reference points are shared experiences of the war. Seems a little artificial to be honest although each of our narrators find themselves either frustrated in their ambitions or relationships. The racial aspect underlying the stories comes to the fore briefly in a violent affair in a cinema but this suggest that the American racism is far worse than the British. However later in the book when Jamaicans are living in London this aspect is flushed out until it reaches a violent outcome. The end of the book is a little romantic in many senses of the word with a twist in the tail leading to an outcome I hadn't anticipated but one that didn't seem too odd whilst reading.

Although I enjoyed reading this novel I didn't think it brilliant and felt a little short changed. The characters and situations seemed to be building up to a tumultuous climax and whilst I guess there is for the characters the wider context of post war post Windrush Britain is dealt with more delicately than needs be. A fairy tale ending, as in fantastic, where something a bit more gothic is needed. What I mean is that it seems that the author has striven to square up all the main characters weaknesses so that they all cancel out in relation to each other. Not the usual outcome of wars either for victors or victims.

Shots From The Hip (Charles Shaar Murray)

Charles Shaar Murray
Shots From The Hip

A series of reviews from CSM mainly music related from back in the day to when the book was published in the early 90s. Charles had a particular style which I enjoyed reading in the late 70s when I was an avid NME reader. He's very enthusiastic about the bands that he likes and ones that are authentic (although I guess that's very subjective) and very scathing about the bands he doesn't like or such as flabby white rock groups. I guess that my musical and political tastes coincided with CSM, and the NME in general, meant that I appreciated his reviews and writing. In re-reading some of CSM's articles they haven't lost any of their wit or relevance. In fact rather than seem dated Charles' thoughts are prescient both in musical predictions and his musings on society in general and the music industry's place within it. I was personally impressed by his references to punk in early articles and his understanding in the mid 70s that the New York protopunks and subsequent London punks would blow away the dinosaurs of rock, albeit temporarily and albeit for some of us, and bring rock to ground zero. I also loved his love of blues. Now I'm sure that any compendium of journalistic articles will pick out the ones that are the best written and predict the future but having read so much of CSM in the 70s and early 80s I know that he authored an awful lot of current and entertaining copy. And that's the beauty of this book, it is entertaining whether Charles being enthralled by a first Ramones gig or taking the piss out of the rock establishment. Hey ho let's go.

Reg Harris (Robert Dineen)

Robert Dineen
Reg Harris: The rise and fall of Britain's greatest cyclist

A very well written biography of someone who sounds like he probably deserved the accolade. It charts both Reg himself and also the shenanigans that was professional, and it seems amateur, cycling through the decades. A good read and Reg himself comes over pretty well compared to other sports biographies considering that most top sports people have a drive for success that can seem very selfish and for spectators can seem unsportsmanlike. The thing we do like is that determination and self belief that often results in rebelliousness against the authorities, in this case UK cycling bodies. Certainly someone who loved the sport and couldn't quite extricate himself from it. Worth reading whether a cycling fan or not.

Eating People Is Wrong (Malcolm Bradbury)

Malcolm Bradbury
Eating People Is Wrong

Another book I got from the free bookshop in Stratford shopping centre by an author I'd not read before. The story's centred on a red brick university professor who seems to be very comfortable in his job and life style. It starts off at a fairly lazy pace introducing the various characters most of whom are in some way disconnected from the real world living in, or trying to enter, an academic bubble. The resulting relationships, formed and unformed, and misunderstandings, often unwittingly engineered by the very ones who are misunderstood, make for awkward yet absurd situations that at times are laugh out loud. Maybe it's the setting but it's a bit like a softer, yet no less enjoyable, Tom Sharpe without the crudity and without being led into unbelievable outcomes. That's partly the beauty of this book in that the outcomes are very real and ones that we have all felt to some degree. Although to be honest my time at a redbrick university was in no way alienating. If I had been a little more alienated instead of spending all my time socialising maybe I would've got a better degree.

As the story goes on the plot moves from gentle ha ha into a darker phase whereby the amusing situations have a harder edge and stronger effect on our heroes and those who live comfortably in the world counterpoint the feelings and actions of those who don't. The inevitable outcomes of the initial situations come home to roost bringing with them a pathos reminding me of Orwell (Coming Up for Air) or Hardy (virtually everything). Like both these authors Bradbury links the personal upsets and challenges of the characters to the wider societal changes both within their immediate environment (a college in this book) and in society. Along the way there are comments on the young angry brigade of writers and artists (this was written in the late 50s) which remind me of more recent attitudes to striking young artists. By the end of the book the transformation from comedy to alienation is complete and we leave our main man in a situation much further from any distance that he felt within the college. Indeed in a situation where thought is replaced by bodily function. Contrary to this another of the characters seems to have gone the other way whereby his mind has informed his body's condition. Either way the outcome seems similar. And inconclusive.

The book title comes from a sketch by Flanders and Swann that ends by likening eating people to fighting people. I guess the point of the title is that where you draw your line in relationships and society is a moving point and inevitably different from others. And also heavily informed by society at large. This chimes with my recent conversion to veganism (bar the odd cheesecake that I thought was made of tofu instead of ricotta) which has made me think deeper about how far I am willing to travel down the road of ethically and environmentally friendly food sourcing. Figuratively travelling personally but in actual miles too. Not eating honey (which was a surprise to me when I turned vegan but thought in for a penny in for a pound and gave it up) is one step down the road but now one of my greatest dilemmas is drinking almond milk as most almonds are grown in California and rely on the transport of millions of bees back and forth across the USA with resultant death and stress on those poor defenceless creatures. OK, not so defenceless if a swarm attacks you but I guess you know what I mean. Not sure how I got to this when reviewing a book about academic life but I'm sure that some sociologist out there (Matt?) will explain and add in the Comments section...

Couples (John Updike)

John Updike
Couples

Never read any Updike before, that I can remember, and I found this in a free bookshop in Stratford. Not an independent or underground bookshop - one that gives you 3 books free of charge. A no lose situation I thought, as one of Updike's characters may say. And that's the problem. His characters all seem a bit one dimensional and very irritating. And unlikeable. Add to that the descriptions of infidelity, not graphic but mainly from the emotional viewpoint, and other character's views of these shenanigans creates a very dated and boring novel. I guess it was written in the mid 60's and by all accounts it was pretty risque at the time so maybe this was a breath of fresh air east coast style. But reading now it falls between being provocative, sexy, titillating or illuminating. I thought at first that the style was something I could hang onto but even that becomes tedious and predictable. It's as if it's written for a magazine in a formulaic way. I got a third of the way through and whilst I found the book amusing, not funny amusing but it passed the time, I wasn't hooked. Pausing my evening's reading to make a cup of tea I came back and just couldn't face opening the thing up again. I was bored. Life's too short to read Updike, at least my remaining life is. Maybe I should've read it back in the 70's when it was only 10 years old and when I was a pubescent youth and open to a bit of titillation. But I'm sure he didn't write for frustrated British early teens. Christ, I'm beginning to write like him. I don't often give up on a novel but the bookmark is forever lodged between pages 158 and 159. Not enjoyable.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)

Carson McCullers
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

An excellent book written with real pathos and empathy with the main characters. These characters are well built up and we see their strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are a sense of commitment to their beliefs those being ones that we can identify with. The weaknesses are an otherworldliness that distances them from those around them and in some sense from us as readers. The main protagonists, ironically given the way that Carson writes, don't seem to have empathy for others or understand how they cause distress for their loved ones and try to force their views on others. The hub of attention is a deaf mute who is used by others as someone to pour their hearts and dreams out to but turns out to be someone who truly doesn't understand them and is simply a person for them to use as therapy. I think the point Carson makes is that everyone needs a shoulder to lean on and not necessarily one that tries to help resolve your problems.

The stories weaved into the characters reminds me of Steinbeck's Cannery Row which is one of my favourite novels which I can go back to time and again. This book isn't as riotous and laugh out loud in it's anecdotes but has the same sensitivity to descriptions of outsiders with their flawed characters (aren't we all?)  There is at times an uncomfortable undercurrent of underage sex which is realised in a gentle and romantic way.

Overall a novel I really enjoyed, as did Debbie, leaving me wanting to read more by this young author (was at the time of writing) who had a troubled life. This was her first novel published 5 years before Cannery Row. Recommended.

Fifty Bicycles that Changed the World (Alex Newson, Design Museum, London)

Alex Newson
Fifty Bicycles that Changed the World



Coffee table style book with great pictures and the history of the bike told across 50 major innovations. Couple of omissions but who's quibbling with such a sumptuous feast laid out for us. This is a series of "50 things that changed the world" and the bike and car series must be more serious than 50 bags or shoes that changed the world. Really? Loved this book though. Thanks workmates.

Easy Rider (Rob Hayles)

Rob Hayles
Easy Rider: My Life on a Bike

Very readable book by someone who I thought came over a little arrogant on telly but I've changed my opinion of him. He comes over as a very honest and down to earth guy who just loved cycling, or at least racing and winning. Obviously very driven to get as far as he did and with that must come an inner belief in your ability to win each race so maybe I mistook that for arrogance, along with his very laid back attitude.

As an urban commuter cyclist who occasionally ventures out into the countryside on my hybrid I've never known team or event cycling but watch le Tour and a few other races when on TV. Rob gives a real insight into how it was to make a living out of cycling and his career spans the time from when British cyclists were not particularly well thought of and when you had to join a continental team to survive - up until the professionalisation of GB cycling when we ruled the world. It's a good read and whilst it doesn't give too many secrets or scandal away it lets you in on the hard world of cycling. Some amusing and some heart warming anecdotes make it an easy and absorbing read. In many ways I enjoyed this more that Bradley Wiggins' book. I will look out for him on telly now feeling that I know where he's coming from.

The Moon and Sixpence (Somerset Maugham)

Somerset Maugham
The Moon and Sixpence

An enjoyable book which isn't too taxing but runs deep. Narrated by an educated and presumably a man of comfortable means the tale tells of a stockbroker who suddenly abandons wife and kids to become a struggling, nay starving, artist in Paris and then makes his way to Tahiti. He is presented as an awful and selfish character who has no empathy for anyone else and indeed seems to go out of his way to upset and ridicule friends and acquaintances. Our (anti) hero settles down into a seemingly idyllic existence in Tahiti where his non-conforming attitude seems to be more acceptable than in Europe, until he is brought low by a terrible disease and passes away. Of course his paintings then become much sought after and expensive. If this sounds a bit obvious then the story is not so and in fact the narrator recognises the risk of this. Rather than the physical story the (spiritual) character of the protagonists comes through strongly and whilst nearly all are slated by the narrator in the end we have a sympathy for their faults. If that's what they are. The book doesn't explain the title but after finishing and a spot of googling I find that it relates to a character from an earlier Maugham book who was "so busy yearning for the moon that he never saw the sixpence at his feet."

Overall a story that gripped me and finished in a weekend cycling tour in Normandy. Me, not the story characters. Not bad for a book from a free book store. Free as in no payment, rather than the independently free alternative bookshops from a few decades ago who charged for books. Paying for art and literature would be anathema to our hero and it's perhaps fitting that I picked up a free copy printed 60 years ago by an author who died 50 years ago.

Believing Cassandra (Alan AtKisson)

Alan AtKisson
Believing Cassandra: How to be an Optimist in a Pessimist's World



An apparently classic text on sustainability that's been recently updated. The premise is that environmentalists are Cassandras (as of Troy) who are cursed in that no one will believe their predictions and that they will only have the pleasure of telling everyone else "I told you so" when the World (i.e. human and other life forms) start to decline due to our appalling pillage of our natural resources. It starts off quite theoretical and then becomes quite scary adding to my understanding of what a bad state the World is in and how it's getting worse. It then becomes very upbeat and optimistic, the clue's in the subtitle, saying why he believes that the human race will pull back from the brink of destruction and re-define "growth" as useful and sustainable rather than purely measured on spend (oil slick cleanups add to GDP and therefore are good for growth in our bizarre world) and destruction of resources and unsustainable pollution. A great point is that we've managed to get ourselves into this terrible state within 200 years so why can't we get ourselves out of it. A very readable book with strongly personal accounts of his actions and involvement in the sustainability movement. And yes, sustainability is mentioned a lot. Not sure who to give to next - someone who is already a convert or a sceptic.

Please Kill Me (Legs McNeil, Gillian McCain)

Legs McNeil, Gillian McCain
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk



A potted history of American punk and it's origins from MC5 through to multiple death by drugs. It's all quotes stitched together to make the history giving a really good insight into the times and how the New York punk set lived. From a classic punk point of view (the UK viewpoint?) it covers Richard Hell and The Ramones but the rest is pre punk or simple rock and roll bands. I think Americans would have a different view. The Sex Pistols make an appearance along with Malcolm M but I think mainly because of Sid's descent into dope and the subsequent arrest on Nancy's death and his own death. There is a lot about the drugs and bands which may have not been as (openly?) into that scene (Talking Heads, Blondie, Devo) have less of a look in if any. The British scene is scathingly dismissed in the most part as copy cat with a few whinging about the supposedly pseudo political stance of The Clash and others. There is little about the background to British punk and their influences but I guess it's an American book of quotes from friends of the authors who lived in New York. Having said that it's got a few holes in analysis it's a damned good read with some very funny bits and getting pretty sombre by the end. And if you're looking for titillation here's the spoiler - everyone seems to have slept with everyone else whether man or woman. Apart from Bebe Buell and Johnny Thunders.

Healing Planet Earth (Edward Esko)

Edward Esko
Healing Planet Earth



A 60 page pamphlet explaining the environmental impact of our food consumption linked to the macrobiotic theory on how food affects us as individuals. Very well written although not all would agree with the conclusions and some of the links. As environmental impact was one of the main reasons I became a vegetarian plus the individual health concerns reading this makes me think I should try out the macrobiotic diet. No tomatoes though? I recommend reading this even if it may seem a little dated but remember when first written in the early 90s most environmentalists were considered loonies.

The Secret Agent (Joseph Conrad)

Joseph Conrad
The Secret Agent



I thought that this would be an intellectually challenging read but in my view it's a novel with an interesting plot but spoilt by lazy caricatures with even the plot let down by being lazily finished. Conrad seemingly dislikes anarchists and paints them all as short ugly lazy fat revolutionaries who obviously have psychological problems. The only intellectual effort was in looking up the odd long and obscure word but I stopped doing that when one on-line definition pointed out that the word was very seldom used except by Conrad. Maybe instead of thinking up obscure words the efforts should have been put into the plot development. Apart from my vocabulary challenges this was an easy read and the last two chapters sort of redeemed the book. It was a bit like reading a Hammer House of Horrors plot. Shadows of knives indeed! Maybe back when written in the early part of last century it didn't seem to be so hackneyed but other great authors managed to avoid poor plots and characters. I picked this up in a Books for Free shop (healthyplanet.org) and it was a Penguin "Modern" Classic (my quotes) printed in the mid 1950's with a 3/6 price tag. Anyone under 50 will need to look up that currency notation. Not sure I'll rush off to read his other classics even if for free...